Queensryche Talk About Charity Bike Rides

Launch Radio Networks reports: QUEENSRŸCHE is getting ready to start a North American tour for its "Operation: Mindcrime II" album, but it's also got something else in the works. Frontman Geoff Tate and guitarist Mike Stone will be hosting motorcycle rides with fans throughout the tour to raise money for the VH1 Save The Music Foundation, which supports music education programs across the country. Tate is a friend of Buell Motorcycles head Erik Buell, who made matching QUEENSRŸCHE bikes for Tate and Stone to ride. To get in on a ride, go to Queensryche.com and make a donation.

Tate told Launch that the idea for the charity rides came from his wife Susan, after she heard him talking to Stone over breakfast one day about what they miss while on the road. "We were lamenting the fact that we never get to ride our motorcycles very much when we go on tour," he said. "So she's listening to this and says, 'Hey, why don't you guys take your bikes on the road, and we'll have some sort of, like, contest, and maybe we can involve a charity with it.' And we talked to Erik and he said, 'Oh yeah, I'd like to donate some bikes, and I'd like to ride with you on a couple of those dates, too.' So we all started brainstorming this out, and before you knew it, here it is."

QUEENSRŸCHE recently announced plans to record and release a double live album recorded on its current "Operation: Mindcrime II" tour. Tentatively titled "Operation: LIVECrime II", the set will include a live production of the original "Mindcrime" on Disc 1 and a live production of "Mindcrime II" on Disc 2.

Rhino Records has set an August 29 release date for the reissue of QUEENSRŸCHE's 1999 effort, "Q2K". The remastered and expanded version of the album will be available at traditional physical and digital retail outlets and www.rhino.com for a suggested retail price of $18.98. The iTunes version of the album will also feature an exclusive video for "The Right Side of My Mind". The re-released album contains remastered versions of all 11 original studio tracks and includes a pair of songs recorded during the "Q2K" sessions that have never been released before — "Until There Was You" and "Howl". Also included are different versions of two albums tracks: the radio edit of "Breakdown" and a live version of "Sacred Ground", recorded during the "Q2K" tour.